Welsh public sector pension scheme promises to dump its Russian oil holdings

A Welsh public sector pension scheme has promised to get rid of its Russian oil holdings.

Clwyd Pension Fund, which is administered by Flintshire Council, and runs pensions for Wrexham Council, has pledged to do so following the Putin regime’s unprovoked attack on Ukraine.

Administrators of the fund, which is part of the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) have confirmed its stake in petro-giant Lukoil will be offloaded.

Data published by UK Divest suggests that Clywd Pension Fund investments include £1,852,505 in Lukoil, which is the the second largest company in Russia after Gazprom.

The Moscow-headquartered oil and gas company, which has been operating under US sanctions since 2014 due “to continued Russian efforts to destabilise eastern Ukraine”, is responsible for around 2% of the world’s oil production.

Cllr Clive Lloyd told Deeside.com in a statement to, on behalf of Wales Pension Partnership and the Local Government Pension Scheme in Wales: “We are deeply saddened by the situation in Ukraine and our thoughts are with the Ukrainian people.

“Our total exposure to Russian Investments is minimal at less than 1%.”

‘In light of the terrible events’

He added: “Even so, in light of the terrible events we have witnessed and the economic sanctions imposed internationally, as a collective we have decided to divest from these holdings as soon as is practically possible.

“Given the circumstances, we do not believe that engagement with these companies presents a viable option.”

The fund provides death and retirement benefits for local government employees of Wrexham Council, Flintshire Council and Denbighshire Council.

According to recent data the Clwyd Pension Fund scheme has 49,000 members.  They are split between 17,000 contributors, 18,000 deferred contributors and 14,000 pensioners.

On Thursday March 3 Lukoil took the unprecedented step of urging Vladimir Putin to end his invasion of Ukraine, with its billionaire founder Vagit Alekperov, calling for an “immediate cessation of the armed conflict”.